Sword Art Online: The Lone Swordsman
by Melon567
Summary: What if Kirito didn't fight Akihiko? What if he backed down and went back to clearing floors until they met again, at floor 100? This story answers that question. Rating may change. Gonna focus on mainly Kirito being alone and sad and maybe a tad of romance.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAP 1**

It's been many, many, many days. Too many too count. People have lived here, but more have died. We've yet to accomplish the staggering goal of clearing a hundred floors. So close, but yet so far.

My sword cut through a nameless monster, easily shredding it in half as it burst into a million particles. An item was where the monster once was.

 _Orc's heart. (quest item)_

 _The heart of an orc. Can be used in potions._

Finally, after many swings of the blade and death of virtual monsters, the quest prerequisites have been fulfilled. Time to return.

I found my way out of the cave, wind whipping through my hair. I stepped forward, sunlight shining down onto me. It's as if nature was mocking me, acting innocent and beautiful.

I made my way into town, passing the virtual villagers and players alike. It was quiet as I walked by the houses and pubs, among other buildings. I eventually made it to the doctors quarters, a tidy building mainly composed of dirty brick and grimy rocks, with a couple of windows high on the walls. It was about thirty feet high, or two stories. The only way you could tell that it was the doctors quarters was due to the fact that there was a giant caduceus symbol, ominously floating above it.

I walked inside, the wooden doors opening soundlessly. I was met by yellow lighting, and a relatively clean atmosphere. There was a couple of wooden chairs by a wall, and a front desk with a woman standing behind the desk. A virtual robot.

"Who are you here to see?" She asked, a smile gracing her face.

"Asuna Yuuki," I replied, "Did anything change while I was gone?"

"No, she is still stable. The doctor is still unsure of when she will recover, but he said not to worry. I think Mr. Kumiyashi is actually in her room right now, so you could talk to him if you want."

"Okay, thanks."

I climbed up the stairs and found Asuna's room, but I was stopped as I heard a voice behind me.

"Ah, Kirito. How was the quest?"

I turned around to find Mr. Kumiyashi himself. Blonde hair was messily placed on top of his head, nearly reaching below his green eyes. I suppose he wasn't necessarily good looking, but he certainly wasn't bad looking. He wore a white lab coat, with dagger sheath tied around his waist, along with an assortment of vials tied to the dagger-sheath rope. If you saw him walking along the street, he wouldn't really stick out that much. He looked like everyone else stuck inside this game.

"It went well. I obtained the Orc heart for you."

"Thanks, I'll use it right away."

I opened my menu and scrolled untilI found the Orc's heart, and gave it Kumiyashi.

He stepped past me and opened the door.

The room was clean, looking like the rest of the building. There was a small table with an assortment of medicinal items, things like herbs and containers containing strange liquid. Kumiyashi placed the Orc heart next to these things.

There was a single window on the wall, looking outside one could see birds flying by, singing their songs without a care in the world. A couple of players, geared up in heavy iron armor, walked down the cobblestone path away from the doctor's quarters.

Below the window, was a bed. In the bed, lied a person. She had waist-length chestnut-orange hair, which was tied into a bun currently. She was currently wearing a Knights of the Blood Oath uniform. Her face was peaceful, as if she was sleeping. To say the girl in the bed was beautiful, pretty, or any other type of adjective you could think up of was a huge understatement. She had many names, one being _The Flash_.

"How long will she take if the potion works?" I asked.

"Well, it's unsure, since there was only one other person that obtained this illness. Could be anytime from three days to two weeks for now," he replied.

I let out a sigh as I let myself down onto a chair next to Asuna's and linked her hand with mine.

"Just so you know, I know only you and her can get us out of here, so I'm trying my best. I know it sounds bad when I say I can't guarantee anything, but I'm not gonna lie to you."

I sat silent for a moment, rubbing her cold hand with mine.

"Thanks, Kumiyashi. I owe you."

The aforementioned doctor became bashful for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

"Just get us out of this hell, okay." He mumbled under his mouth as he walked out of the door.

* * *

" _Oh, Kirito…"_

" _Kirito, why didn't you save us?"_

" _Why did you leave us?"_

" _Weren't we your friends?"_

" _Kirito, save us. Save us, please. Aren't we your friends?"_

" _Save us!"_

" _What's the matter with you?!"_

" _SAVE US!"_

My eyes exploded open, as panic spread throughout my body. I only started to calm down when I realized that I was still holding onto Asuna's hand, still cold despite me holding it for well over a couple hours.

I took a deep breath, telling myself it was just a dream. My heart still beat fast, unconvinced by my thoughts.

"Asuna…"

Her face was unresponsive, just like it had been for the past six weeks.

I looked outside and found moonlight shining down onto me.

Should I have fought Akihiko? What if I won? We could've been out of this hellhole six months ago, but we're still here, fighting. Many have died, and the player count has officially dipped below two thousand five hundred, with about a third of them too afraid to fight. The other two thirds are cleaners or grinders, cleaners doing the clearing of a floor and boss fights, while grinders get all the money and exp required to keep the fight going. Of course, there is the occasional odd man out, like a lone wolf trying to find the end of this game. There aren't many lone wolfs left.

I tore myself from my thoughts, as they would get me nowhere and leave me in a bad mood, and found my way out of the hospital.

The moon was still planted high in the sky, shining a brilliant silvery-white upon the barren landscape of floor eighty-three. This floor was just another wilderness floor, with lots of trees and ponds of the sort scattered around the background. There are rumors of special medicinal herbs located deep in the caves, but people have yet to find a quest.

What am I to do today? I've already spent the better part of a month attempting to find a cure for her, and I guess my skill level hasn't improved for the better part of six months. It's time to get an upgrade. I think she would want me to stop thinking about her anyways, and keep on trying to save the people who were still trapped inside of this game.

* * *

A redhead fluttered around a anvil, carefully reading instructions from a book with a leather cover. A ding resonated from behind the girl.

"Hold on one moment!" She shouted, continuing to smith away at her anvil.

After a couple minutes of blacksmithing, the girl went to the front area of her shop to greet her customer.

The aforementioned customer was currently sitting on top of a chair, casually swiping his finger through mid-air. The customer had black hair, pale skin, and a crooked nose. His cheeks were a little pink, she guessed it was from having to trudge through the snow on this floor. He wasn't much taller than her, but he had a better posture and made her seem shorter.

"Ah, Lisbeth," he greeted, "You should really move to a different floor, you know. It's cold."

"Nice to see you too, Kirito." She replied dryly.

"Likewise, my favorite blacksmith," he shot back.

Lisbeth fiddled with some things at the front desk area of her shop before continuing her conversation.

"Well, it's been the better part of two months," She commented, "I can only assume you are here to have your weapons upgraded."

"Heh, you know me almost as well as Asu-" Kirito trailed off, realizing what he was saying.

"-yes, I'm here to have my weapons upgraded."

Lisbeth smiled awkwardly, rummaging around in her inventory looking for her S+ materials.

"I'm also going to assume that you have quite the hefty order, then." She remarked.

"I suppose," Kirito replied, swiping through his inventory and pulling two items from it.

The two aforementioned items were quite similar. The were both black in color and were very sharp-looking. It's blade was straight and narrow, perfect for keeping an opponent at bay. Lisbeth forgot what type of sword he carried.

"Is that a cutlass, katana, or…?"

"Apparently it's a type of Claymore," He explained, "It was a lucky drop from a hidden boss I found on floor eighty-two. It's called _The Claymore of Damning_ , as is the other one. I had a special clothing on at the time which has a slight chance to double the amount of loot that a boss can drop."

"Course, you bring the swords with the highest chance of breaking…" Lisbeth muttered under her breath.

He handed her the two swords and she lead him to the backroom of her ship where all the smithing is down.

"Well, this could take a while."

 _ **CLANG!**_

* * *

After thanking his smithing friend he walked out of her blacksmith shop, donning his level eighty-two sword with some interesting upgrades. Apparently one could spew flames while the other spewed poison, and they could combine and make an explosion or something. Kirito decided to explore those upgrades later.

A ding was heard and Kirito instinctively opened his inventory and swiped towards the _Social_ section.

Message from: Argo.

 _heya, some stuf is happenin. meetup at my place and ill explain l8er_

 _p.s. bring some choclate_

Kirito sighed as he looked at the message, having to spend the better part of two minutes deciphering it. Seriously, could she put a little bit of effort into her messages and at least capitalize at the beginning of the sentence?

Reply:Argo

 _Fine, I'll be over in fifteen minutes. Also, can you stop typing like an infant who had a stroke and is attempting to type with its feet?_

He swiped out of his inventory, snorting as he heard the notification ring multiple times, signalling that Argo was not pleased with his sassiness.

* * *

After gathering chocolate and acceptance that he will he be verbally and physically abused once he encounters Argo, he made his way to her floor. Arriving at the front door of Argo's house, he took in the details.

Despite Argo being nicknamed "The Rat", she had a relatively clean house. It was modern in the outside appearance, with a couple of windows on the side. There was a gravel path leading to the front door. Argo even managed to have a couple of flower beds near the front.

Kirito steeled his nerves and walked up to the front door and knocked twice.

The door flew open, revealing Argo. She decided to be as 'formal' as ever, wearing an extravagant white t-shirt with no bra underneath, and some designer zebra striped panties. Her auburn hair was somewhat smoothed down, revealing a, dare he say it, cute face complexion. She still donned her makeup of cat whiskers.

"Kirito, you have a death wish." She threatened. If one would take the time to know Argo to a personal level, one would discover that she doesn't take jokes well, despite her playful demeanor.

"Peace, Argo," Kirito said while laughing nervously, "I brought you pristine chocolate as a peace offering."

Kirito presented the chocolate, which Argo eyed.

"I actually made you bring me chocolate for another reason.'

"Hmm?" Kirito questioned, mildly surprised, "What could chocolate have to do with anything besides you eating it?"

Argo glared at the boy in the doorway. She did not like being teased.

"If you come in, I'll show you."

Agreeing with Argo, Kirito stepped inside.

The inside of Argo's house was much like the outside; modern. There were many papers strewn about, whether it be on a table, couch, or even floor. The upsides of living in virtual reality was that you could change reality. Therefore, the room essentially never got dirty.

There was a strange box sitting next to the couch that Argo sat down on.

"Cutting to the point, I discovered something today," Argo said while hefting the aforestated box onto her lap.

"Oh?" Kirito questioned, his curiosity rising.

Argo tapped the top of the box and it vanished, leaving a little dog laying in her lap. The dog was asleep and looked to be a husky.

"A dog?" Kirito asked incredulously.

"Yes, a _dog_ ," She replied, not having any of Kirito's antics, "But this isn't any ordinary dog. Here-"

Argo tossed Kirito the chocolate he gave her earlier.

"Open it and take a bite."

Kirito did as he told, deciding to ask Argo questions later.

The husky woke up and sniffed the air. The little dog hopped off of Argo's lap and frolicked over to where Kirito was, sitting patiently at his feet. Kirito switched his attention to Argo, his look dumbfounded.

Argo felt a blush coming as he looked at her.  
"Well, I know how things have been lately," She looked away, rubbing her arm, "I just wanted to give you something to cheer you up."

Argo suddenly felt warmth around her and was picked up off the couch.

"Thank you, Argo," Kirito said softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Uhhm, Kiri...to."

 _So… warm…_

"Argo?"

Kirito mentally facepalmed as when he discovered that Argo was asleep. He still had his _Gloves of Calming_ equipped from when he was orc hunting earlier. He set her back down on the couch and wrote her a message that she would see when she woke up, explaining everything. Well, mostly everything.

"Well little guy, I guess we're stuck together for the foreseeable future."

The husky stared right back into Kirito's eyes, one of them blue and the other brown. His fur was completely white. There was a little nametag floating above the dog, that read "Unnamed". Apparently the husky was a girl as well, with the female sign next to it.

"I'll call you snowy for now."

The name tag vanished and reappeared, with "Snowy" as her new name. A new item appeared in his inventory named _The Guide to Dogs_.

* * *

After leaving Argo's house and making his way to his peaceful log cabin, Kirito laid down onto his beed. Albeit being a bit cold and lonely, it was still home.

 **I was rummaging through my old google docs and found this. It must've been about two years since I last wrote something like this. I've been going through a bunch of shit and I need to vent, so I guess I'll start writing again. We'll see how long that lasts, and depending if I get good support on chap 1. Lets see where this road takes us guys :).**


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up to the sensation of a wet rag being slapped around his face, Kirito woke up, sputtering for air.

"Gah!"

Sitting up in his bed, the hero wiped his hand down his face and grimaced as he could taste dog slobber.

"Snowy! No!"

The dog yipped in realization of having his name called, and spun around in a circle, his tail wagging hack in forth, a million times a second.

"No." Kirito scolded, rolling back over into his bed.

* * *

Angirly glaring ahead as Kirito walked down a cobblestone path with old fashioned wooden buildings on either side of him, he recalled the events of the morning. After attempting to get at least another five minutes of sleep, Snowy, however, had a completely different agenda and decided to lick Kirito's face like as if it were a tasty popsicle.

And so, the Swordsman and Husky walked down the rocky path, with irritation painted across the latter's features.

"Snowy, you're lucky you're cute." Kirito admitted, walking into a building known as _Agil's Shop_.

"Ah, Kirito!"

The mentioned player shifted his glance around the place looking for whoever called his name until he saw a man.

The man was burly, but his vibe and appearance said he was friendly. He was bald and wore an apron over a white shirt, with grease marks decorating his attire. He was bald, but it suited him well. He was a darker man and had a southern accent.

"Agil, how's it been?" Kirito greeted, his hands already swiping through his inventory and pulling out items from thin air.

"Meh, business as usual," he commented, folding his arms, "How's it been for you?"

Swiping out of his inventory, Kirito continued:

"Well, I met with Liz yesterday and got my weapons upgraded. Oh, I almost forgot-"

Hefting up 'Snowy the Husky' to the counter between him and Agil, he introduced her.

"This is Snowy. Argo gave me her as a gift and I was wondering if you had anything for her."

The mentioned husky sat obediently on the counter, her eyes staring ahead.

"Oh, well… I'm sure I have something around here…" Agil mentioned as he dug around in the boxes behind him.

Around ten minutes and a couple pieces of bread later, Agil managed to find something. Pulling out what could only be described as dog armor, the chrome object shimmered magnificently in the light. The plates even came with a similarly colored helmet.

"I present, dog armor!" Agil joked, hefting up the polished iron from the floor to the counter, "Some schmuck came in and traded this for a couple of bows. It's a level eighty-two, with nothing else noticeable about it. It'll upgrade and break just like any other piece of clothing."

Kirito inspected the shiny piece of armor, picking it up and rotating it for good measure.

"How much?" Kirito deadpanned.

"Straight to the point, as always," Agil nervously laughed, "I was thinking around five thousand col, but if you had ten or so silver bars I could lower it to three thousand."

* * *

Strolling out of the blacksmith's shop with a husky clad in new armor closely strutting behind, Kirito quickly checked his messages and finding a couple new ones, two of them from Argo. Quickly glancing over the heading of the messages, Kirito decided not to open them as it would most certainly not benefit him.

The other message was from his old friend, Klein.

Why would Klein message him? The only time he got a message from his old friend was when he asked for some money, because apparently a women up and robbed him during a date. Deciding to answer his question himself, he tapped the message.

Message from: Klien

 _Kirito, theres a meeting this afternoon. Its about Asuna._

Kirito's breath hitched and his heart skipped a beat.

Reply: Klien

 _I'll be there._

* * *

Morning came and went, with Kirito having to chase his dog nearly four times. Why did Argo have to give him the weird things? First it was the flying shoes, invisible blanket (impossible to find), and now we have a stubborn dog that wouldn't listen if it's life depended on it.

Moving on, Kirito strolled briskly down a gravel path, his shoes crackling against the rough ground. His dog was at home, as the swordsman decided it was best not to bring a ill listening dog to a meeting. Kirito entered The Knights Blood's (TKB) main base.

Their grey castle has barely changed since his last visit, save for a couple new faces doing mundane chores across the castle. Kirito disregarded this information and entered the main area of the fortress.

Entering the dimly lit room, Kirito took note of the architecture, his eyes unconsciously scanning the environment. The castle was very traditional, with painted windows letting in sunlight, with walls made of cobblestone bricks. A gleaming chandelier decorated with at least thirty candles hung above the circular table in the middle of the room, swinging a little from side to side.

At the table sat three people.

To the left of where Kirito would normally sit, was Daizen, current co-leader of Knights of the Blood. He was a fairly large individual, donned in his standard Knights of the Blood attire. His hair was slicked back and he was tossing a bag of coins back in forth between his hands, obviously bored.

Across from Kirito, sat his old partner, Klein. Wearing sparkly red armor, Klein twirled a strand of his also red hair in his finger, his other hand flying through his menu.

Two seats to the right of Kirito was Thinker, currently slumped over the table, lightly snoring.

"You're late," Daizen commented, "By about fifteen minutes."

Kirito grimaced as he realized that he was very much so, late.

"Sorry, I got caught up in some things." Kirito disregarded.

Daizen huffed at the boy's reply, choosing to stay silent rather than jeer him. Kirito nervously smiled and sat down next to him.

"On with the meeting, then!" Klein proclaimed, while bringing his hand down to wake the sleeping Thinker.

* * *

"Ah yes! We're having a meeting!" Thinker sleepily bumbled, exhaustion evident in his features.

I contained a snort as he attempted to organize himself and wipe the sleep out of his eyes.

"Alrighty, since everyone seems to be _present_ -"

Daizen leered over at me as he continued,

"-and awake, let the meeting commence. Today we will talk about the recent discovery concerning the Caustic Caves, among other things."

 _The Caustic Caves. I went there looking for the rumored herb of healing and found nothing save for a couple of very dangerous and very unfriendly looking pools of acid. Maybe they found the medicine?_

Daizen noticed how he suddenly had Kirito's full attention.

"Sorry to be a Negative Nancy kid, but they didn't find any medicine down there. But, what they did find was a weird NPC. They tried to talk to him but he kept saying, "Bring me the strongest one," over and over. And well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you are the strongest one here, Kirito. I've already organized a group of three to lead you to where the man is. Give the word when you're ready."

Kirito nodded in agreement, and was already sorting through his inventory of items he may need for this quest.

"Now that that's sorted, onto more pressing matters," Daizen started.

"Ah, yes," Thinker commented, "I've heard of the dwindling player count. Shall we increase the standard level allowed for clearing parties?"

 _The standard level. It's what level you had to have to be a part of the main clearing group. Now, of course you could go to floor seventy-five and be a level twenty, but that wouldn't go very well. The current standard level was five levels above the current floor. So, if we were on floor eighty-three, you had to be at least a level eighty-eight._

Sensing this conversation would lead to him falling asleep, I quietly dismissed myself and readied my gear for the poisonous caves.

* * *

Stepping out of the dark castle, Kirito found the aforementioned people talking quietly at the castle's gates. The first person was a man with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a leather tunic that went down to his knees. He carried two daggers in sheathes that were hanging by his belt. Kirito could deduce that this character was focused around speed, judging by the lack of armor and daggers he carried.

The second person was a girl. Platinum blonde hair flowed freely around her back and occasionally brushed up against her full iron body armor. Her helmet was in her hand, the other one resting on the hilt of a greatsword sheathed at her side. She had pale blue eyes and was somewhat cute in face complexion. She was a person centered around the tank build.

The last person was also a girl. She had somewhat short black hair flowing freely. On top of her hair was a pointy witch hat. She wore a tunic like the first man, but it was much more decorated with things like pins, badges, and such. Her eyes were a dark brown, and seemed to pulsate purple at times. On the side of her hat, there was a name that read Aki. it looked poorly stitched but it held.

"Hello," Kirito greeted, "Ready for the quest?"

All three players immediately perked up at Kirito's sudden appearance.  
"Oh, hey," the first player replied, "We're all ready to go."

Kirito nodded and let out a high pitched whistle. Snowy, the white husky, suddenly appeared out of seemingly nowhere and sat down next to Kirito's side.

"Let's go, then."

* * *

The walk to the cave was uneventful, for Kirito at least. There were a couple of minor monsters, as Kirito called them, and cut through them as one would do with bread.

The entrance to the underground caverns was ominous and not-very-friendly looking.

"Well, we better get started." Kirito sighed.

And so they begun their descent into the cave.

 **I think its funny how the world works. Last week I suddenly remember that I used to write porn on this website and decided to do it again, minus the porn part. Exactly 375 days ago, or Jan 10th, I finished chapter one and left it to sit in an folder titled SAO, not to be touched for another year. This chapter is my last prewritten one, so we'll see where my writing has gone in a year :).**


End file.
